The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in 3 years have been concluded in Istanbul on May 16.
Russia was negotiating from the position of strength due to its obvious successes on the battlefield, deputy director of research at the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Dmitry Suslov, tells Sputnik.
Ukraine, in the meantime, desperately needs a ceasefire because it is losing and needs a pause to recover and regroup.
Zelensky’s demand for one-on-one talks with Putin was an act of showmanship aimed at Trump: the ex-comedian was trying to make it look like he is the one who wants peace while simultaneously directing Trump’s ire at Putin for not showing up in Istanbul.
Zelensky fears that Trump might make some concessions to Putin to end the Ukrainian conflict and then present these concessions to Ukraine as fait accompli. Thus, Zelensky tried to meet with Putin first before the latter, together with Trump, would be able to resolve the conflict through a bilateral Russian-American summit.
The negotiations in Istanbul were not a failure, with Russia being able to display its willingness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis “through diplomacy based on addressing the fundamental roots and reasons for the conflict.”
The US may also regard the talks as a success, with Trump now being able to “boast that he succeeded in launching Russian-Ukrainian bilateral negotiations.”
